Instead of buying sink cleaners, use baking soda to clean your enameled sink (can be used for old enameled bathtubs too). Mix into a paste 2 parts baking soda and 1 part hydrogen peroxide. Apply to the surface and let sit for 30 minutes. Scrub and rinse.

If I have to choose a city to live in, then New York City will be among the top ten in my book. This city has everything that one needs in city living. What I like most of all is the fact that it has many museums that one can visit, among those are the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of National History. It also offers Central Park, which has a lot of activities for everyone. You can see more FAQs about Central Park at the official website. For someone who loves theater, New York City has the famous Broadway, where all wonderful plays get their start. Then we have shopping, this city has all the stores of popular designers and brand names. There are different choices for housing and you will see a lot of modern and beautifully designed New York City Condos to suit your taste and budget. The Tribeca area is one of the places that is great place to live. I like the thought having a lot of choices of top rated restaurants in your neighborhood.

I could go on and on about New York City, there are just too many things to mention. You can see more of what this beautiful city has to offer by checking their official NYC website.

If your household is like mine, then you too have a lot of scratched CDs and DVDs thanks to our wonderful and cute kids. :o) I've tried scratch removal devices and I am not satisfied with the results. While searching online for a solution on how to make my son's favorite DVD work, I came across this tip. It is worth a try before tossing it in the trash.

Place the disk on a cloth with the scratched side up. Wipe a small amount of car wax into the scratch with a soft cloth. Let dry for a couple of minutes. Buff along the scratch (do not go against the grain) using short and brisk strokes. When the scratch is no longer visible, wash the disc with water and let it dry.

With the rising incidence of identity theft nowadays, you can never be careful. From shredding important documents, changing your passwords often and even using mailboxes that are secured with a lock. We all see it around us, mailboxes with the flag up. That means there is usually a letter or a bill payment inside for the mail person to pick up. This is also an open invitation for thieves. They did a piece about this on the news. They showed how easy it is to erase written information on the check and change it to whatever they want. This leaves the victim's bank account open to the crooks.

For secured mailboxes with keylocks, commercial mailboxes, decorative mailboxes, lawn decorations and other house and yard accessories, go to www.Seattleluxe.com. Here, you can find quality merchandise for your home and the prices are reasonable. This website also offers the exclusive Platinum Extended Mailbox warranty. It covers your mailbox against all damage, vandalism or destruction. This company also has no restocking fee on 98% of its' merchandise, so if you need to return an order, all you need to do is to get a return authorization. Their prices are very competitive and they make every effort to pass on the savings to the consumers.

If you are looking for high quality and luxurious designs with the right price tag, visit their website and find the perfect product for you.

Uhhm, I've been thinking if I should share this since it sounds weird but hey, I've seen weirder tips than these. :o) So, next time you ran out of toilet bowl cleaner (i.e. Lysol toilet bowl cleaner), pour 1/4 cup of mouthwash like Listerine into the bowl and let it stand for 30 minutes. Clean with a toilet brush and flush. Aside from leaving the toilet bowl sparkling clean, it will also disinfect and kill (hopefully LOL) the germs.

I've been thinking lately that I want to redecorate a room in my house. Right now, it serves as a formal living room, meaning it's not being used. I told my husband that I want to remake it as a formal dining room. Since my husband's family started celebrating Thanskgiving in our house, I'm leaning more towards this idea. Now the next problem is choosing the right furniture for this space. Should I go the traditional way or should I be bolder and choose modern furnitures like the ones show here from NYConceptFurnitures.com?

I love the clean lines of modern furnitures. It is simple yet beautiful. This website also offers other modern furnitures for different parts of the house. You can even find beautiful modern bedroom sets for the children's room as well as TV stands, furnitures for the entryway and closets and wardrobes. All the furnitures sold in this website comes from one of the following countries: Belgium, Spain, Italy and Germany. It is of high quality and the designs are like no other. To see more of their modern furniture offerings, go to www.nycconceptfurniture.com.

The main reason why I don't like to use wallpapers in my house is the work you have to do to take it off the walls. I have a small border in our bedroom and I'm glad that I still like it even after seeing it everyday for 7 years.

In case you need to remove a wallpaper in your house, here is an easy tip that I saw while reading a magazine. If you use a fabric softener, this will make removing the wallpaper very easy. (I hope). Mix 1 quart of water and 1 cap of liquid softener. Apply this solution to the wallpaper with a sponge. Let this soak for about 20 minutes. Scrape the paper from the wall. For water-resistant wallpaper, you need to use a wire-bristle brush before putting on the fabric softener mixture.

It's nice living in this part of the country, you see all four seasons. With it comes all the hazards of winter living. The bone-chilling temperatures and the snow, lots of snow. Winter this year has been brutal. It seems like it's been snowing every week since December. One problem I see every winter are mailboxes being struck by the snowplows. Our first mailbox was damaged this way so my husband positioned the new one beside a tree. It's worked so far, knock on wood. Mailboxes nowadays are a far cry from the plain designs many years ago.

This metal mailbox shown here is from the website Mailboxixchange.com. They have different kinds of residential mailboxes available, around 2500 styles so you'll have one that is perfect for your taste.

They also offer Commercial Mailboxes if you need one for your business. If you are looking for a commercial mailbox that is secured (one that has a lock and key), they have it. You can also find curbside decor products like address sign posts, outdoor lamposts, sundials and other decorations. They also offer house numbers and address plaques. Check out their website to see all the products they offer.

You can keep your cut flowers fresh longer by adding a cube of sugar and a copper penny to the water. I also read somewhere that you can add a lemonade soda like Sprite or 7-up to the water, this will help the flowers stay fresh. If you bought the flowers from the store, always make a fresh diagonal cut on the step before immersing these in the water.

When considering purchasing a property like a house or a building, it is important to have it inspected. It might look fine just by looking at it but what you cannot see might hurt you and your pocket in the long run. I always hear horror stories from new homeowners who didn't have the property inspected before they bought it. They were no aware of the problems that the seller hid from them. These could range from minor problems like cracks in internal walls, termite problems, or worst, a terrible mold problem.

Of course, it is imperative that would-be homeowners hire someone to do building inspections. The building inspector should be licensed and knowledgeable in this field and not some fly-by-night operators. One company that is leading in this area is Childs Property Inspections. All their inspectors are properly licensed and have professional indemnity insurance. You get a detailed report of the physical condition of the property and these reports usually run around 25 pages long. To make it easy for the clients, they also provide a summary list of defects like pest infections or water damage that were found. There is also a list of repair cost for every defect plus digital photos. It is also good to add that the inspectors are not contractors, they work directly for Childs Property Inspections. When you're considering buying a home, always hire a building inspector. Go to http://www.childspropertyinspections.com.au

The saucepan is a workhorse in the kitchen since it is so versatile. The pan should feel heavy (at least two or three pounds), but not so heavy that you’ll have a hard time lifting it when it’s full of boiling liquid. Make sure the handles are secure; they should be soldered or riveted to the base. Choose one with long handles (about 12 to 16 inches long so you won’t have to burn yourself when you’re pulling the pan out of the oven.) Make sure the handle is heat-proof so you can use it in the oven. Consider a pan with flared sides (this is called a Windsor pan) , which has a wider surface and boils water faster and reduces sauces fastest.

I'd like to share this article I read online. It discusses the different areas of your personal or business space and things to do to counteract the negative energy. If you are interested to know more about Feng Shui, you can find more information at Amazon books

Below are the feng shui areas of your home or business space (according to the Ba-Gua) that will house contradictory/inauspicious feng shui energies in 2009. As a general rule, it is recommended to keep the challenging feng shui areas quiet and to avoid any renovations or loud work.

Be sure to also read the auspicious feng shui energies update for 2009.

As a reminder, the Chinese Feng Shui 2009 New Year starts on January 26, 2009; it is the feng shui year of the Earth Ox.

Northeast feng shui area of your space is housing some of the most challenging energies in 2009. It is best to keep the NE area of your home as quiet as possible in 2009 and avoid any renovations or building work. To weaken the effects of negative energies in NE, use candles, lamps, bright lights, in other words, bring a strong fire feng shui element into your NE area.

Be it red candles or red lampshades, a red throw or a red feature wall, you will need the presence of a strong fire element in NE this year. Do not have a water feature in NE and do not bring metal items.

West feng shui area also needs calm in 2009. However, here you would like to avoid fire element as in colors (red, purple, pink, orange, and yellow) shapes (triangular) or actual fire items (candles). Work with the metal feng shui element. Six Chinese coins are good here, metal feng shui element colors are good (white, silver/gray, gold/metallic), as well as the metal element shape (round) in your decor accents.

North feng shui area needs help in 2009 in order to manage present energies. Any metal items are good there, especially round shape metal items, such as metal bowls, for example, or round metal frames. Basically, minimum activity and maximum metal items (as much as reasonably possible) should keep under control the energies that challenge the North feng shui area in 2009. Just like in the West, avoid fire element in the North, too.

East feng shui area also needs your attention in 2009. A calming Buddha presence is needed here, as well a traditional feng shui cure such as eight coins tied with a red ribbon. Good colors for the East area in 2009 are water feng shui element colors such as blue and black, use them freely in your interior decor solutions. The colors to avoid are earth and fire element colors. Avoid placing crystals in the East this year. Avoid candles. You can have a water feature here.

I saw this article on Yahoo the other day. They gave three ways to tell if you are fat. I don't know, doesn't anyone know if they are overweight or not? I'm sure people are aware that they are overweight just by how their clothes fit or by looking in the mirror. Whether you think you need weight loss products or not, here are the three low-tech ways to measure from the Harvard Health Letter:

1. Check your body mass index, or BMI. You can find many BMI calculators online and just input your height and weight and you'll get back a number that will classify you as underweight, healthy, overweight, obese, or extremely obese.

2. Measure your waist circumference. If you're a man with a waist larger than 40 inches or a woman with a waist larger than 35 inches, you need to lose some fat.

3. Calculate your waist-to-hip ratio. Measure your waist at its narrowest point and divide that number by your hip circumference (measured at its widest point). If you are a woman, it should be no higher than 0.85 and for men, it should be no higher than 0.9.

It is also called a stockpot. This kind of pot has tall, straight sides that provide plenty of room for cooking spaghetti without having to break the noodles in half. Its round base conducts heat up the sides while insulating the bottom to ensure that the food does not burn. Get a pot that is thick to insure a good transfer of heat. Choose one in which the bottom is thicker than the sides, this will prevent scorching. The ideal size is 6 to 12-quarts, it’s big enough for most recipes but small enough to carry from the stove to the sink when it’s full. A stainless steel pot is ideal since it is durable and lighter than other materials. This is similar to the pasta pot that I have. I like the fact that it comes with a steamer basket aside from the big pasta basket. The bottom is coated with copper for good heat retention. I also use this pot when I make soups since it holds more water than the regular pot.

It's that time of the year again, time to do the taxes. When I was single, I do it all by myself since it's pretty straight forward and easy. Now, my husband does all the dirty work and I just provide him with some information. I keep tabs on all our donations to the church, school and other charities. I always donate to the March of Dimes since I think that they have a worthy cause. They are dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects like cerebral palsy, premature birth and infant mortality. These organizations need all the help that they can get especially during these tough financial times.

This is also known as a skillet or a sauté pan. You should at least have two types of frying pan. Get one with an untreated surface. This will work better for browning meat and caramelizing onions. Your other pan should have a nonstick surface (great for grilled-cheese sandwiches, omelet or pancakes) so food will slide off without using much oil. Choose a pan that is at least 10 inches in diameter so the ingredients aren’t crowded together. If you have problems with handling weighty objects, consider getting a pan with a hollow handle. This is more lightweight and will be easier to handle.

I was listening to Peter Walsh on the Oprah radio channel some time ago and he was discussing ways to organize a room and even make a small room look bigger. Of course, the main point was to de-clutter your space. Sounds easy right? The question is, where do you put all those things that you took away from the room? His answer was easy, if you haven't used it within the past year, then you should consider donating it. If you have a small room, you don't need a lot of furnitures in it, only put in the essentials. You can also use space saving items such as a TV wall mount. Using a corner entertainment center is also a great idea for a small space. You also need to take everything off the floor and position them on top of shelves or furniture. Don't forget the walls, printed wall paper will just make the room smaller.

According to a 2007 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, adding fruit to alcoholic drinks may help to increase the already beneficial antioxidant potency of the fruits. The effect you get depends on the fruit you use and how much you include in your drink. Berries tend to have the most anti-oxidants. A fresh raspberry margarita offers more nutrients than one made with a juice concentrate or mix (these also contain more refined sugars which means more calories and less fiber). So go ahead, add some strawberries on your champagne or add some apples to your Sangria. Oh, and one more thing, always drink in moderation. :o)

Where do you keep your important papers such as Birth and Marriage Certificates, Insurance documents and other documents? Do you have it in your file cabinet stored in its' own folder like I do? Well, what if God forbid, you need to get out of your house right now? You don't have the time to sort through all those folders to get these important papers. You should get yourself an emergency file container where you can put all your important papers in, so if there is a fire or something of that nature, you just grab one thing and go. I bought one of those portable file holder with a handle and I store it in the file cabinet.
Here are a list of important papers you need to store in that emergency file folder.

Birth and death certificates
Social Security cards
Passports
Emergency contact information (insurance agents, doctors, family)
Marriage certificates/divorce decrees
Wills
Copies of your driver's license, green card, and other identification cards
Copies of lifesaving prescriptions (like insulin, asthma inhalers, etc.)
List of bank account and credit card account numbers
Inventory of household goods

It is also recommended that you take photographs of high priced items in your household like the plasma TV, jewelry, high-end appliances, etc. Upload these photos to your private online photo storage. Check your homeowner's or renters insurance policy if these are covered, if not, you can add these for an extra fee to your current policy. Since we're discussing insurance, I learned from my research for our summer vacation last year that it is advisable to purchase
travel medical insurance if you plan to go on vacation for more than a couple of days. Doing so will protect you if ever there is a medical emergency before and during the trip and there are other important benefits. Good thing we didn’t have to use it but it was comforting to know that we have it just in case.

It's the time of the year again where I clean out my file folders and toss out documents that is not needed. Here is the guideline that I use. I clipped it from a news article years ago.

Tax documents
Tax returns, W-2 forms, receipts, and real estate closing statements should be kept for at least seven years. The IRS may audit you within three years if it suspects good-faith errors; six years if it believes you underreported your income by at least 25%; and unlimited time if you did not file a return or filed a fraudulent one.

Investment records
Keep it as long as you own the securities, plus another seven years. You'll need it to prove capital gains and losses.

Bank statements
Keep it only for one month. You need these long enough to check the accuracy of the transactions. Unless the the statement is your only record for a tax-related transaction, then keep them longer.

Retirement plan statements
For tax purposes, keep them for a year. For Roth IRA statements, keep it until you retire, to prove you already paid tax on your contributions

Credit card statements
Shred after you pay it and after checking for errors. Just like with the bank statements, unless it is your only record for a tax-related transaction, there's no need to keep them longer.

Paychecks
One year, until you receive your W-2 .

With the state of businesses nowadays, it is very important to stay competitive in whatever field you are in. You can do this by taking extra courses to keep you updated or better yet, get a Master's degree. If you have a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, you should consider pursuing an MS in Nursing. Some would think that this is a great idea on paper only. What with a full-time job plus a family to take care of, most nurses don't have the time to go back to school to get a degree in MS nursing. With Saint Xavier University's School of Nursing, you can get a Master's degree online. Yes, you read that right, they offer online courses that will let you graduate with a Master of Science in Nursing - Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL). You are then eligible to take the CNL Certification Examination that is given by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (AACN)
To be admitted to this master's program, you need a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Most of the learning is online and you will have one weekend of applied campus experience. The classes are taught by professional faculties and you will get a high quality education that will further your career. Visit Saint Xavier University's website for more information about their MS Nursing program.

First of all, you should stop drinking soda since it's just empty calories. (heh, just a friendly reminder.) Having said that, do you know that soda/pop/softdrinks can ruin your teeth? That is why you should rinse your mouth out after drinking soda. This will help wash the enamel-eroding acids off your teeth.

I've been using the Wii Fit to exercise for two weeks now. Yay! I do it for a minimum of 30 minutes and end up around 40-45 minutes. That's how fun it is, for me at least. I saw a post on Coach Jen's blog Personal Fitness Coach about a study done by the University of Pittsburgh researchers. They found that if you at exercise at least 40 minutes a day, you're most likely to keep off the pounds years later. So go ahead, add that extra minutes you need to get your total to 40.

It has been 8 years since we moved in to our home. When our house was being buillt, we were living in Oregon temporarily because of my husband's job. He flew back once in a while to check on the building progress. It also meant that he was the one who get to chose most of the hardware around the house like those for the kitchen cabinets, front door and others. Thank goodness I liked what he chose. It would be nice to redecorate the house and give it a fresh new look. Since money is tight for everyone nowadays, one way to redecorate your home and still save money is to change the
decorative hardware. You wouldn't believe the big difference it makes just by changing the kitchen cabinet door handles. I like these type of wood knobs I found at InvitingHome.com, the details are amazing. This site also has the type of crown moulding that I like. It's not the usual crown moulding you see at your local big box hardware store. These crown moulding has a lot of details. Adding crown moulding to a room makes it more beautiful. I've been wanting to have crown moulding added to the rooms in my house. They also have other Architectural products like pediments, door trim,
shutters, wall niches, wainscotting, etc. If you want to give a room a different feel or design, adding one of these will certainly give it a new look. Have you seen those rooms in magazines? Almost all of the rooms have some form of moulding, wainscotting or decorative hardware in it.
At InvitingHome.com, all these are offered plus this website also offer beautiful home furnishings like wood furnitures, frames, tables, fireplace accessories and more. Add to this long list are decorative lamps and other kind of home lighting. You can also get wall art and wall decor from this place. It really is a one stop shop for home decorating. I saw a pediment that will be perfect for my house. I've been looking for this in stores in my area but they don't have any. The prices are reasonable so I am a happy camper.

We've all seen the TV commercials for the Chia pets every Christmas time. I bet you can sing the jingle (Ch-ch-chia). I could. ha ha It's a favorite gift of pranksters or people give it to someone they don't like. But do you know that the Chia seed is full of Omega-3 fatty acids? It contains more than flax seeds. Who would've thunk?

I saw this segment on my favorite GMA (Good Morning America) and they have Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen (you should listen to their show on XM radio, very informative) as guests. They said that eating these seeds is one way to be healthy and stay healthy. The Chia seeds, aside from being rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, is also rich in iron, calcium, copper, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, molybdenum, manganese, and niacin.

But don't go and get yourself a Chia pet yet. You can get the Chia seeds from your local health food store or from the internet. A 3 lb. bag of Chia seeds only costs $19.99. One major advantage of consuming these Chia seeds is that when mixed with water or any liquid (even in your stomach), it forms a gel and helps you feel full and slow down digestion. What does it taste like? I read that it has a nutty flavor and you can eat it with your cereal, yogurt or salad. Some people eat it as is for their snack or you can grind it and mix it with muffins or bread.

I am seriously considering trying this Chia seed. From what I've read so far, there is no bad side effects. Have you tried it?

So it's time to start another round of 'New Year's Resolutions'. Last year, my resolutions were to stop drinking diet Coke and stop eating 'cheesy snacks'. I was hooked diet Coke and drank it almost daily. Now, a year later, I'm proud to say that I've stopped my diet Coke addiction. For the cheesy snacks, I haven't completely stopped but only indulge in it once in a while. I probably bought it only 3 times last year.

So what's my health resolution this year? I want to bring down my bad cholesterol numbers. I wrote last month that I started having Cheerios for breakfast. Have you seen the commercial toting this particular cereal? It promised to lower cholesterol and I'm hoping that will happen. I've also started using the Wii Fit, one of the gifts I received for Christmas. I've been using it daily for an average of 30 minutes. I think giving someone an exercise themed gift or sports gifts is only a good idea if that person is open to it. Giving it to someone who does not like to exercise or play sports can be a disaster. LOL Anyway, I specifically asked for a Wii Fit from dh so no harm done there.

How about you? Have you made any health-related New Year's Resolution?

One important part of winterizing your home is to check for air leaks. Even a small amount will affect your home's heat retention. I remember when I started testing around the house for air leaks, I was amazed that even an electrical outlet gives out a lot of draft. We purchased the kit to put in it to reduce the draft. It lessened the draft considerably but I wasn't satisfied so what I did was to put on a strip of packing tape on it. Here are some places to check for drafts. Basically check all areas where there could be cracks or gaps.

Door and window frames
Mail shutes
Electrical and gas service entrances
Cable TV and phone lines
Outdoor water faucets
Where dryer vents pass through walls
Bricks, siding, stucco, and foundation
Air conditioners
Vents and fans.

:o) I took a break from blogging to spend time with my family. Christmas time is a busy time for me plus the kids are on vacation for two weeks and dh had a week off. I still have not put away my Christmas decorations. The tree is still fresh after three weeks, not bad eh? There were hardly any needles on the carpet except for the part where I water the tree from. I'm still watering it though and will probably put everything away after Three Kings.

I have boxes marked out with XMAS for all my decorations. DH set aside a space in our walk-up attic for it. It's easier this way so we'll always know where everything is. I wanted to get some plastic boxes for the decorations but I didn't since I want to save $. I figured that the carton boxes we have is still usable. I did some attic cleaning and set aside a couple of bags of 'stuff' to FREECYCLE. This is a great organization to give away household appliances and other stuff that you don't use. Find one in your neighborhood at Freecycle.org. The old snowblower we have was already picked up last week by an old man. I gave away two coffeemakers, a rice cooker, a toaster, a winerack and tons of toys. I also found a lot of old books and a list of auto parts franchises. I have to find out if the local library has a need for these.

It sounds like I'm doing 'Spring Cleaning' isn't it? LOL Anyway, it's a good way to pass time if you don't have anything to do. You'll get rid of a ton of stuff you don't use plus you'll get a lot of space back.